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Census: Colorado's population substantially more diverse

Fracisco Bella plays with his 5-year-old daughter, Ashley, while his wife picks out produce Wednesday at Walmart in the Thornton Town Center. For 10 years, the Bellas have lived in Adams County, whose proportion of white residents has declined by more than 10 percentage points over the past decade.
(RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post)

Colorado's population became substantially more diverse over the past decade, and the changes were especially noticeable among young people, according to new Census Bureau figures released Wednesday.

People identifying themselves as white fell from nearly 75 percent of the state's population in 2000 to about 70 percent in 2010. Hispanics filled most of the gap, rising from 17 percent of the population to nearly 21 percent. The relative representation of black and Asian residents, as well as people identifying themselves as multiracial, also increased.

Fifty-eight of Colorado's 64 counties saw their proportion of white residents fall. Elizabeth Garner, the state demographer, said that is a departure from standard perceptions that diversity is mostly an urban phenomenon.

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"Now you see diversity increasing all through the state regardless," she said. "It's more diverse in every community."

The latest census figures cover population and housing data for Colorado counties and cities. The numbers will be vital in determining how Colorado draws its congressional district boundaries and will also have an impact on how governments allocate services to residents.

The data will affect where transportation funding goes, how governments conduct public outreach and how cities structure community planning.

"This has profound implications for us here in the Denver metro area," said Estevan Flores, the executive director of the Latin American Research and Service Agency, or LARASA.

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The census figures were analyzed for The Denver Post by the Rocky Mountain Investigative News Network.

Among other revelations, the numbers show that Colorado's fastest growth continues to be in the Front Range communities south and north of metro Denver, as well as along Interstate 70 on the Western Slope. Doug las County, long home to Colorado's biggest population boom, continued to grow faster than any other county. Several towns in Weld County, led by Firestone, saw their populations double or triple over the decade.

El Paso County, home to Colorado Springs, surpassed Denver as the state's most populous county. It now has more than 620,000 residents, compared with just over 600,000 for Denver. Jefferson County, meanwhile, saw a meager 1.4 percent growth rate, and two of its largest cities — Lakewood and Wheat Ridge — lost residents.

"I think it was due to the aging of the population," Garner said of Lakewood's population decline. "So that family of four is now a family of two."

Indeed, the graying of Colorado's population is evident in the census numbers. More than 75 percent of the state's population is now over 18, compared with nearly 64 percent in 2000.

But most pronounced were changes in the state's racial and ethnic makeup.

Garfield, Arapahoe and Adams counties all saw their proportion of white residents decline by more than 10 percentage points. The figures confirm that Aurora is the first major city in the state to be a "minority-majority" city, with nearly 53 percent of its residents identifying as nonwhite.

Census surveys in the last decade had estimated that Denver County was minority-majority, but the figures released Wednesday show it as being 52 percent white and one of the few counties in Colorado to see an increase — albeit less than 1 percentage point — in its proportion of white residents.

Colorado's diversification was especially apparent among its youths. In 2000, 66 percent of residents under 18 were white. In 2010, that dropped to less than 58 percent. Overall, the number of nonwhite youths increased by nearly 39 percent, while the number of white youths dropped by nearly 3 percent.

Flores said the numbers show why it is important for cities to account for diversity in their operations. Police officers and public health officials may need special training, for instance. Elected officials need to be mindful of different cultures.

"What good government is all about is serving its population," Flores said. "When you have a diverse population, you need to be diverse along with it."

Burt Hubbard of the Rocky Mountain Investigative News Network contributed to this report.

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